Take a chance, be special!
ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but ADD works, too. It’s loosely defined as an inability to focus, being impulsive, and finding it hard to be still.
Researchers have noticed for years that there is a positive side: children or adults with ADD are often creative. Understood says ADHD defines risk-taking, low inhibition, spontaneity, and strong focus as qualities that make people succeed in writing, music, acting etc.
Hyperactive in Hollywood? That’s crazy talk!
There are many jokes made about how crazy and kooky California is, and that goes double for Los Angeles. I live here, in LA, but I’m not a native, so I don’t take offense at these slurs. 🙂
Even the most casual reader of entertainment news or tabloid gossip must notice that entertainment figures, from music to reality shows to movies, are not like you or I. They’re nuts, or nuttier, to be nice.
WebMD came up with 12 celebrities who admit to dealing with ADD, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg here!
People in the biz, whether in front of the camera, or behind the scenes, are smart, driven and a tiny bit manic. Having seen this myself close up for years, I would not be surprised to learn that ADD or ADHD, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was always part of the equation in Hollywood, especially with those in front of the camera.
Leave Will Smith out of this!
And no, i’m not incuding Will Smith here, and the now infamous slap heard round the world towards his former pal Chris Rock. We saw what happened: he laughed politely, then saw that his wife was humiliated and hurt at the insult to her disfiguring condition. He then decided to take a stand.
It was really a kind of historical theater: I’m quite sure almost no one has seen a gentle slap like that except for in films, movies, and acting classes or improv!
In any case it wouldn’t be classified as ADD.
More about the cartoon
I was fortunate to have a great gig in the Los Angeles Times, in their Sunday Magazine, West. The editors encouraged me to do cartoons about anything at all, so long as it hewed LA. Hollywood was always in fashion. And all of my editors had a great sense of humor, so they appreciated them, too!
This was a couple of years before my column in Psychology Today, so you can see that I’ve always been interested in analyzing people! I’m not a mental health professional, but I research everything.. And since I live here in Los Angeles, and was a gym rat before Bally Gyms disappeared, I think I got this one just right.
I’ve both worked in the studios, and know entertainers professionally, so that’s where this cartoon idea came from. And everyone in front of the camera goes to the gym. I love these crazy kids!
ID #n3721n Caption: But as it turns out, LA is the perfect place to have ADD! (2 friends chat on the stairstepper in the gym)
Originally published with more info on ADD and ADHD, and more cartoons! in Psych Central.
Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst.
Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.
- Emma in the Night ~ Wendy Walker ~ Thriller - May 11, 2023
- Still Alice (2014) ~ Psychology Movie Review ~ Julianne Moore - January 25, 2023
- The Other Emily ~ Dean Koontz - January 23, 2023
